Event Horizon Game Design Document
Event Horizon is a concept of a game I created for a Writing for Video Games class. I was tasked to make a short version of a real GDD which I will develop as its own project in the future.
The story follows a protagonist who is the captain of their own space crew. Stuck inside a dark and depressing solar system, they decide to take up one last job to pay for their travel across the galaxy to find their new home. But when they find themselves delivering a special package to a station near the system’s black hole, their ship loses power, and the crew has a limited amount of time to escape before they reach the black hole’s event horizon, the point of no return. It’s up to the player to make the right calls to keep as many crew members alive as possible while they discover dark secrets about the package, their mission, and even members of their own crew.
The game is inspired by the game style and narrative design of Corpse Party, a 2D horror game that involves exploring rooms, interacting with people, and making choices that could lead to dire consequences.
Life is a Dream
During the summer of 2023, I was hired as a Narrative Designer on a local team based out of Otterbein University. Our goal was to submit a game demo to the Digital Projects for the Public program. This organization branches off the National Endowment for the Humanities, which supports and funds digital projects that interpret humanities content.
The game is inspired by the events of Life Is a Dream, a 1636 Spanish play written by Pedro Calderon de la Barca. The story follows a Polish prince who has been locked in a tower prison his entire life because it was prophesized that his rule would bring war and death. However, when it was time for the Prince to be given the chance to disprove his destiny, he turned back to his violent tendencies. This resulted in the Prince being knocked out, and when awoken, told that the previous events were nothing but a dream.
During this project, I worked closely with the writing, programming, Spanish language, and psychology departments to create a cohesive game loop that included moral dilemmas and interweaving storylines. Working in Twine, I was able to visualize the potential paths the player could take, and what consequences they would lead to.
